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Former lawmaker Gattis: Leaving Bahamas, after all

Suzanne Downing
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Former lawmaker Gattis: Leaving Bahamas, after all

Former Rep. Lynn Gattis and her husband are leaving their island location on Abaco, in the Bahamas, after an evacuation order was made in advance of Hurricane Dorian. They’ll leave by air on Saturday morning.

Dorian has become a Category 3 4 hurricane that is headed across the northern islands of the Bahamas. Lynn and Rick Gattis have their boat tied down in a canal and have secured all the building materials for the house they are building there.

Earlier this week, the couple planned to ride out the storm and had stocked up on provisions, including water. Those plans changed as the eye of the storm started toward them and Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis issued an evacuation order for the Abacos and parts of Grand Bahama.

Dorian strengthened to a Category 4 storm Friday afternoon and has maximum sustained winds of 115 140 mph, according to the  National Hurricane Center. A major hurricane, it is expected to hit the Florida peninsula, where millions of Americans live in its path.

Former Rep. Lynn Gattis battens down the hatches in Bahamas

 

 

John Binkley retires from cruise line association

Suzanne Downing
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John Binkley retires from cruise line association

John Binkley announced he is retiring from his role as president of the Cruise Line International Association of Alaska.

Binkley, who ran for governor the the primary in 2006 but lost in the Republican Primary to Sarah Palin, will step down effective Oct. 11, 2019 from the role he has had since he started the association in 2007.

During his time as president he grew the the advocacy group from nine to 17 member companies that bring cruise ships to Alaska, and he was active in rolling back the punitive cruise ship passenger tax that caused cruise companies to take their business elsewhere. The tax was $46, but with legislation signed by Gov. Sean Parnell, it was rolled back to $34.

The association had filed a lawsuit against the state that claimed the head tax violated two sections of the U.S. Constitution, and federal law. CLIA dropped the suit after the tax was rolled back.

The CLIA also sued the City and Borough of Juneau in 2016 because it was improperly using the head tax to erect a bronze whale on a manmade island built for the whale sculpture, and a boardwalk to and from the art project that was a long distance from the cruise ship docks. It was a $10 million project with its own fair amount of local controversy. That suit was settled when Juneau agreed to not use the taxes for non cruise ship purposes in the future.

Binkley considered running for governor in 2018 but ultimately decided to stay out of the race. His family business had purchased the Anchorage Daily News property from Alice Rogoff.

“Our goal has always been to help Alaskans gain more economic benefit from the cruise industry,” he said in a statement. “Seeing the positive impacts cruise ships have had in Alaska’s economy has been very fulfilling. New, small businesses starting up, more jobs and opportunities for Alaskans, more revenue to communities, all are very satisfying to see develop and progress.”

The Alaska Cruise Association merged into the Cruise Lines International Association in 2016. The chairman of the organization, Charlie Ball, said Binkley leaves the organization in good shape and the organization doesn’t plan to fill the position at this time.  Lalanya (Lanie) Downs and Mike Tibbles will continue as CLIA’s representatives in Alaska.

“Though his achievements are many, certainly at the center of his leadership legacy over the past year has been his ability to successfully help the industry and local communities adapt to the largest single growth season for Alaska cruising ever,” Ball said. “John and the CLIA team worked throughout the winter and spring to resolve a long-running lawsuit with Juneau, which helped establish a great foundation for future collaboration within Southeast Alaska port communities.”

In his role back in the family business, Binkley will report to his son, Ryan Binkley, CEO of their various statewide family businesses and publisher of the Anchorage Daily News. He is focusing on projects in Southeast Alaska, working closely with partners Ward Cove Group on the new two-berth cruise dock in Ward Cove.

Binkley, a former member of the Alaska House of Representatives and Alaska Senate, was born and raised in Fairbanks and is a third-generation Alaskan whose grandfather arrived in the territory during the 1898 Gold Rush as a riverboat pilot.

In 1950, his parents started a small tour business in Interior Alaska, hosting visitors aboard the Riverboat Discovery. Binkley was born into the business and grew up in the visitor industry, seeing firsthand the growth of the industry from the 1950s to the 1980s, when cruise ships started coming to Alaska on a regular schedule.

In 1977, John and his wife, Judy, moved to Bethel, where they started Northwest Navigation, which hauled freight on the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers. He started his public service career as a member of the Bethel City Council from 1982 to 1985 and then successfully ran for House and then Senate, representing the large rural district with 74 villages.

John served as chairman and CEO of the Riverboat Discovery for 14 years and as president of the El Dorado Gold Mine for 12 years.

He was chairman of the Alaska Railroad Corporation for 13 years, and he continues to serve on the AKRR Board of Directors. He also serves on many other corporate and nonprofit boards around the state.

Tuckerman Babcock retires from Governor’s Office

Suzanne Downing
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17
Tuckerman Babcock retires from Governor’s Office

Former Chief of Staff Tuckerman Babcock has retired from the Office of the Governor. He had been appointed chief of staff after Gov. Michael Dunleavy was first elected in November, 2018. In July, Gov. Dunleavy swapped him out for Ben Stevens, who had served as a senior policy adviser. While Stevens is now chief of staff, Babcock became the senior policy adviser.

Babcock was on a road trip today and out of cell phone range.

He had served as the chairman of the Alaska Republican Party and before that had spent several years at home raising his children. He earlier told Must Read Alaska that he looked forward to spending more time with his children and grandchildren, after many months of absence from their lives.

In his resignation letter, Babcock said he was grateful to have served and had every confidence the office was in good hands.

[Read: Tuckerman Babcock’s resignation letter here]

Leftists had the long knives out for Babcock, often calling him “Governor Babcock” and blaming him for much they didn’t like about the Dunleavy Administration.

As for his future plans, Babcock said he was delivering a car to his son out of state, and would return shortly to his home in Kenai. Some have speculated that he intends to run in the Republican primary against Rep. Gary Knopp, but Must Read Alaska is not able to confirm that he will … except that it has crossed his mind.

Lieutenant Governor says ‘no’ to radical election initiative

Suzanne Downing
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6
Lieutenant Governor says ‘no’ to radical election initiative

The lieutenant governor of Alaska has turned down a ballot initiative that would create a “ranked voting system for Alaska (first choice, second choice, third choice), eliminate the third-party expenditures in elections, and create a nonpartisan primary system.

The reason for Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer’s rejection of the ballot initiative is that it involves more than a single subject. It has three subjects, evidently.

His decision was based upon recommendations from the Department of Law, according to a letter sent today.

“The Department of Law reviewed the application for compliance with AS 15.45.040 and recommends that I decline to certify this initiative on the grounds that the bill violates the single-subject rule,” Lt. Governor Meyer wrote in a letter to the initiative sponsor. “Based on this recommendation, and in accordance with AS 15.45.080, I am denying certification of your initiative application.”

According to a formal opinion issued by Attorney General Kevin Clarkson, the election initiative raised concern of violating the single-subject rule because it would enact three significant changes to democratic processes: establish an open primary, create a ranked-choice general election, and change campaign finance disclosure laws.

“The single-subject rule serves an important constitutional purpose in the initiative context by protecting voters’ ability to have their voices heard,” wrote Attorney General Clarkson in his opinion to the Lt. Governor. “But 19AKBE (the name of the initiative at the Division of Elections), if certified, would force voters into an all or nothing approach on multiple important policy choices, all of which implicate their fundamental constitutional rights in different ways.”

The initiative was filed with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor on July 3, 2019. According to statute, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office had 60 days to review an initiative application for certification once an application is submitted.

During the review process, the Lt. Governor’s Office works with the Department of Law and the Division of Elections to confirm the proposed bill is in the required form, the application is substantially in the required form, and there is a sufficient number of qualified sponsors.

The sponsors have 30 days to challenge the Lieutenant Governor’s certification decision.

The 25-page initiative would replace the current state primary election with a single primary vote, in which all could vote for any candidate regardless of their party of registration. It would also eliminate party primaries in favor of one big nonpartisan primary.

Better-Elect 2020

Although the initiative seeks to eliminate “dark money” from Outside Alaska, it has received money from a left-leaning election group that is also seeking to do away with the Electoral College.

The initiative effort, including the gathering of signatures, has been paid for with out-of-state money from a group called FairVote.

Local leaders of the initiative are former Rep. Jason Grenn, former Juneau Mayor and Attorney General Bruce Botelho, Bonnie Jack, and Scott Kendall, former chief of staff to Gov. Bill Walker and lead attorney on the Recall Dunleavy effort.

Under a ranked voting system, it would be possible to do away entirely with the party system, since under a realistic scenario, no Democrat or Republican might advance to the General Election. Every person advancing could be nonpartisan or undeclared, under likely scenarios.

Kendall and Botelho were the authors of the initiative. The group has openly called it a “three-pronged attack on the current election system.”

Rep. Laddie Shaw chosen to serve Senate Seat M

Suzanne Downing
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Rep. Laddie Shaw chosen to serve Senate Seat M

Rep. Laddie Shaw is Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s choice to serve the Senate Seat M vacancy.

Shaw currently fills the House District 26 seat the was left by Sen. Chris Birch as he moved to the Senate in January after winning the Senate Seat M position in November.

Shaw won the D-26 seat with 62 percent of the vote from his district.

Shaw is a retired  Navy SEAL and Vietnam veteran (two tours) who spent eight years with the SEAL Reserve component; and seven years with the Alaska Army National Guard (Airborne). In 1999 he was appointed to the position of State Director of Veterans Affairs for the State of Alaska. He has also been an instructor at the State Trooper Academy in Sitka.

Dunleavy said he thought the Senate District M process was well done and all the applicants for the position were good. He said it was a tough decision because all three names forwarded to him by the district’s Republican grassroots leaders were people who had served the state and country in important capacities.

Dave Donley, a former state senator and member of the Alaska State Defense Force, and Al Fogle, a U.S. Army combat veteran, were the other finalists.

Donley is also on the Anchorage School board and has a position in the Dunleavy Administration as deputy commissioner for the Department of Administration. Fogle is an account executive at Moda.

Shaw will have to run for the seat in 2020, since Birch had passed before having served eight months in the Senate. The Senate Seat M Republicans will need to repeat the process, filling the District 26 House seat that Shaw will leave vacant.

“Our prayers and thoughts are still with Pam (Birch) and the family,” said Alaska Republican Party Chairman Glenn Clary. “I want to thank the district committee members who put a lot of time and effort into evaluating all the candidates, and thank the governor for picking one of the three forwarded. I’m hopeful that the Republican senators will confirm him.”

Senate President Cathy Giessel issued a statement: “Due to various scheduling conflicts, Senate Republicans will not meet to consider the governor’s appointment until after Labor Day weekend.”  Seven of the Republican senators in the Senate must confirm Shaw’s nomination. If they turn it down, the governor has 10 days to name a replacement nominee.

Floyd Hall, stolen car retriever and folk hero, takes plea deal

Suzanne Downing
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9
Floyd Hall, stolen car retriever and folk hero, takes plea deal

Floyd Hall, who is legendary in Anchorage for tracking down and recovering stolen cars, has accepted a plea deal: He won’t chase stolen cars or touch or move any vehicles without the owner’s permission for a year.

In April, Hall had decided to not accept a plea deal that also prevented him from having contact with criminals.

In his mind, you can’t find stolen cars without having some kind of interactions now and then with car thieves. In fact, you can hardly walk out of your door in Anchorage without having contact with criminals.

[Read: Floyd Hall won’t take plea deal, will go to trial]

Hall has made a national name for himself by recovering hundreds of stolen vehicles, but was charged in 2017 for reckless driving. He had been trying to keep pace with a stolen truck, and ended up being shot at by its criminal occupants. They were never caught but the truck was recovered.

Hall runs a Facebook page that features Facebook Live videos of him scouting and finding stolen vehicles, sometimes illegally occupied by someone other than their owners.

Anchorage residents who follow his exploits pass him tips, and he has a couple of friends he calls “The A Team” who also help recovering vehicles.

The 54-year-old had earlier this year asked prosecutors to change the plea deal, because he didn’t think it possible to never engage with criminals in Anchorage.

As for not moving a car without the owner’s permission. With a mechanical loader with forks, he lifted a stolen car  that had been abandoned in the middle of the road to on top of a snow bank, as seen in this video:

He was charged with vehicle tampering for that caper.

In the plea deal, Hall also received no jail time, and a $500 fine, with a year to pay.

Donations for Hall’s efforts are accepted at Wells Fargo Account No. 8217848491. (No cash is taken by Wells Fargo for the account and it is not tax deductible.)

“I’m still losing money on this. I don’t make money on it. My Toyota gets 16 miles to a gallon but a tank of gas goes quick,”

Hall continues his efforts, while also taking care of his elderly parents. In fact, he found and recovered three stolen trucks last week.

One was a Toyota Tundra truck, whose owner had posted about it being stolen on Facebook. Hall recovered it two years to the day and 200 yards from the exact place he had been shot at in August of 2017 while trying to keep up with a stolen vehicle — an event that led to his being charged with reckless endangerment.

He also recovered a white 2008 Chevy truck, and helped recover a 2003 Ford truck.

[Read: Don’t punish Floyd Hall; work with him.]

#MeToo movement backlash hits women in workforce

Suzanne Downing
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17
#MeToo movement backlash hits women in workforce

Fallout from the #MeToo movement has hit working women in unexpected ways, according to a survey explained by the Harvard Business Review.

Since the #MeToo movement began in the entertainment industry in 2017, leading to the downfall of Producer Harvey Weinstein and other men, attractive women are finding they are not being hired throughout other industries as often they once were.

Sixteen percent of men and 11 percent of women women surveyed said they they are less willing now to hire attractive women than they were before the high-profile anti-harassment movement.

Also, 22 percent of men and 44 percent of women predicted that men are more apt to exclude women from social interactions, such as after-work drinks; and nearly one-third of men are reluctant to have a one-on-one meeting with a woman, according to the study.

Fifty-six percent of women said they expect that men would continue to harass but be more careful to not get caught, and 58 percent of men predict that men in general have greater fears of being unfairly accused.

One of the most high-profile cases of harassment was the accusation made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who during his confirmation hearings faced accusations made by Christine Blasey Ford, who said he forced himself on her in high school at a drinking party. The accusation nearly derailed Kavanugh from being appointed to the Supreme Court after women, mainly leftists, from all over the country rallied to block his nomination, even though proof was missing from the decades-old accusation.

The story is linked here at Harvard Business Review.

Fashion review: Patagonia wants to own camo as ‘bear witness’ color

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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By CRAIG MEDRED
CRAIGMEDRED.NEWS

Patagonia – the California-based clothing company that last winter announced its new corporate mission is to “Save the Planet” – might be planning a stealth offensive.

For the first time ever, the environmentally active business that helped bring Alaska “amateur bear expert” Timothy Treadwell is marketing camouflage outerwear.

Patagonia bills its “Bear Witness Camo” in wind shells, down sweaters,  bike jerseys and more as a “new color.”

Camouflage clothing has traditionally been marketed to hunters and the military – groups Patagonia has in the generally tried to avoid. Thus the new color caught the attention of Rod Arno, director of the Alaska Outdoor Council.

“Crack me up,” the leader of the state’s largest hunting and fishing organization. “The anti-hunting outdoor clothing manufacture has to sell camo now to stay in business?

“For years, I took a picture of myself and Patagonia gear with a dead animal, and they sent it back every year saying they did not support hunting.”

Patagonia has not revealed its motives for going camo, but the “color” is trending in fashion markets. The company founded by climber Yvon Chouinard has long had a strong fashion sense and good timing which, along with some higher prices, has sometimes led to Patagonia being mocked in Alaska as Pata-Gucchi.

“Camouflage Is Back (Yes, Again) and Here’s How to Wear It,” GQ magazine headlined late last summer.

“The motif is masculine, muted, and not complicated to reproduce on the cheap, which makes it too tempting for designers and brands both high and low to pass up,” wrote the magazine’s Megan Gustashaw.

Yes, you can’t get much more masculine than combat attire.

[Read the rest of this fashion review at CraigMedred.news]

Alaska Life Hack: Smoke gets in your eye with Kenai fire

Suzanne Downing
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Alaska Life Hack: Smoke gets in your eye with Kenai fire

WORST AIR IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE; TRAVEL TO KENAI BY ROAD IS DIFFICULT

Southcentral Alaska residents don’t need to be told: The air quality is — pardoned the technical word here — horrible.

At 7:15 am this morning, heavy smoke drifted across the entire region on one of the worst air quality days, as shown in the photo above taken of Anchorage from an Alaska Airlines jet heading north.

According to purpleair.com, which tracks real-time air quality around the world, Southcentral ranks the worst in the Western Hemisphere at this time, and among the top five worst air in the world this morning, even exceeding Chinese industrial cities.

Here is the latest update on the Swan Lake Fire from the Kenai Borough Office of Emergency Management:

SWAN LAKE FIRE

New comprehensive area closure orders have been issued for public lands surrounding and including the burned area. A community meeting will be held at the Sterling Community Center on Friday, Aug. 30 at at 6 pm.

Fire suppression activities and dense smoke make travel on the Sterling Highway between Sterling, Alaska and Cooper Landing hazardous, and there are travel delays. Authorities are discouraging use of this section of the highway, if possible. Motorists who choose to travel through the fire area should be prepared for potentially lengthy delays by assuring their vehicle has ample fuel and carrying food and water for occupants. Do not stop along the highway within the fire area. The eastern end of travel restrictions has moved to milepost 40 north of the junction with the Seward Highway. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management has the latest information at kpboem.com, on Facebook at KPB Alerts and at their call center at 907-262-INFO (4636).

Cooper Landing: An additional strike team of four engines and one hotshot crew is working from 10:00 am to midnight around Cooper Landing to bolster resources through the more active afternoon and evening hours. They join the other firefighters to continue reducing hazardous fuels around structures, install water sprinklers, and to protect the power line corridor.

Heavy smoke caused poor visibility that significantly limited yesterday’s air operations. The most active portion of the fire was on the eastern flank in the Juneau Creek drainage. It moved slowly, down-slope to the south as well up-valley to the north on the Resurrection Trail. While this growth does not yet present an immediate concern for Cooper Landing, fire managers are evaluating strategies for limiting further spread. Rugged terrain and difficult access present challenges in those areas. Today, three crews are hiking up the drainage to begin constructing new containment lines to arrest further spread.

Wednesday night’s public meeting in Cooper Landing attracted about 200 people to the school and another estimated 360 on Facebook Live. Fire managers and local officials shared information about suppression progress and plans as well as Sterling Highway travel restrictions and contingency plans should evacuations be needed.

Cooper Landing remains in a SET status due to fire activity. All residents should be SET (fully prepared) to evacuate if the situation warrants. If you feel uncomfortable or need additional time, consider leaving before an evacuation notice. The Cooper Landing School is also closed until at least Sept. 3.

Sterling: The southwestern corner of the fire experienced some increased activity near, but inside, containment lines. Work will continue to cool this area as well as securing the perimeter northward to the Sterling Highway by extinguishing any remaining burning or smoldering fuels adjacent to the containment lines. Structure protection on the western flank is effectively in place.

The Sterling neighborhoods east of Feuding Lane and east of Adkins Road remain in a READY status. A READY notification means residents should be preparing for a potential evacuation should the threat level increase.

Weather: High pressure will persist over the fire for the next 48 hours providing very similar conditions to yesterday—light winds, warm temperatures and moderately low relative humidity. A low-pressure storm system is expected to move inland on Saturday and will likely bring cooler temperatures with precipitation. Gusty winds are predicted for Sunday afternoon.

Closures: The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and the Chugach National Forest have issued coordinated, comprehensive area closures for public lands surrounding and including the Swan Lake Fire. These orders will incorporate the previous individual closures as well as new restrictions on public entry and use. The orders and accompanying maps are available at local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Chugach National Forest offices and online at kpboem.com.

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): A TFR is in place for air space over the Swan Lake Fire (9/7677 NOTAM). The TFR includes unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones, as well. Flying drones near wildfires could cause injury or death to firefighters as a result of a mid-air collision with tactical firefighting aircraft.

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